Monday, May 21, 2012

Who really protects you?




It all happened when our gas cylinder was stolen, it was a huge one kept in the outdoors area of the kitchen, the area where grand meals are cooked when the entire family is over for lunch.

It happened a day after or possibly the same day our neighbor's washing machine was stolen. It was also outdoors in their backyard.

A few days before that, we heard about two other thefts in the neighborhood, a tv was stolen from one house and another home appliance from another.

I wondered if its a broke young man wanting to get married and is in need of home appliances. 

People in my neighborhood were shocked, I live in an old, extremely quiet neighborhood of Omdurman where doors are never locked and guests are always over. 

So, the investigation began and all fingers pointed to the people living in the خور"…in front of my house. They are also called "shamasa". I see them on a daily basis, they basically live underground. There is a whole life down there, in the khor between my house and the main road. Families live there, they have young girls who wear very colorful dresses. Every time I see them coming out of the khor, I'm surprised. I still can not grasp the fact that people live underground.

Once the blame was thrown on the "under-ground people" , some people in the neighborhood visited the police station and filed a complaint.

They were told by the police that there is nothing they can do.

"We don't have enough forces, the police are now dispersed to protect oil pipelines and border areas," said a police officer.

So, who really protects you? No one. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi kizzie. I am intrigued by these stories of the 'underground dwellers'. Is there any evidence that they are behind the spate of thefts? Often groups on the margins of society are singled out for blame. If the residents in your neighbourhood of Omdurman are acting in this kind of self-rightous way then surely they are no different to the stooges in the Khartoum regime. Of course if there is evidence than your community does deserve the protection of the police and it is shameful if this is not forthcoming.

Reem said...

Dear Desert Nomad,

Yes there was evidence that they are responsible for this. Just a few weeks ago, one "underground dweller" jumped out of the khoor and ran to my mum and tried to snatch her cell phone from her hand.

To be honest, regardless of what they did. I feel very bad for them. This just shows that poverty in Sudan is reaching new levels and even living in shanty towns has become a luxury